Knowledge of legal intricacies and skills to advocate for particular policies are critical tools for activists

CHANGING NORMS, VALUES, AND BEHAVIORS Achieving the remedies of recognition, redistribution, representation, and participation often requires shifting public norms, values, and actions away from the stigmatization of particular groups. This requires influencing people’s political priorities and hence what issues they feel motivated to take action on, to campaign for, and who and what they vote for. However, shifting people’s values, beliefs, and behaviors is not easy: providing information is seldom sufficient. Advocates must create opportunities for people to engage with an issue emotionally, to build their motivation for action, and practically, to build their skills to take action.15 It further requires building people’s sense of self so that they have the capacity to act.16 This may require not only influencing individuals directly, but also targeting their influencers, a concept borrowed from marketing that refers to those whose perspectives the decision-makers value.17 There are many different theories and models of how to shift behavior,18 in part because perspectives and behaviors can be influenced by a diverse set of strategies and tactics. These include utilizing mass media such as a television series, local public events such as community theatre, public pro - tests, social media campaigns, or speeches and actions by public opinion leaders or popular figures. Public service providers can also be motivated to take action to change public perspectives on an issue as they, in focusing on meeting their constituencies’ needs, “are often stymied by the larger systems that seem to work against the people they are trying to serve.”19 In particular, non-governmental organizations providing services frequently serve those who are closest to the problem. Both these organizations and the people they serve may be mobilized to participate in campaigns or movements to shift public values or pressure policy-makers and implementers into action. 16 17 CHANGING AND IMPLEMENTING LAWS AND POLICIES Changes in the law can also influence public support for an issue,20 either because the national debate about a legal or policy change engages the public’s imagination, or because laws themselves carry a symbolic value that influences public perspectives.21 If a particular law is targeted, as an activist you can attempt to build one-on-one relationships with politicians. You can also appeal to political parties and public opinion leaders;22 indeed as a long-term strategy you or your allies can join political parties and build your leadership voice within these. If there are formal mechanisms for civil society participation, such as a legal requirement that parliament or city councils have public hearings before finalizing laws or policies, you can prepare organizations and individuals from different constituencies and with different skills to speak at these hearings. These strategies usually require that you utilize “insider” strategies in “invited spaces” aimed at influencing political decision-makers, including mobilizing evidence such as personal testimony of individuals experiencing the problem or research about the nature of the problem and options for addressing it.23 On the other hand, sometimes you can use public campaigns and protests in an effort to put external pressure on decision-makers to change the law. Frequently this involves mobilizing public outrage and media coverage, which in turn exerts pressure on decision-makers who want support from their constituencies. These can be considered “outsider” strategies.24 When you manage to raise the resonance of an issue, you can “invent” spaces for example establishing platforms for dialogue or negotiation that decision-makers then feel obliged to attend.25 As an advocate for social change, you may use diverse strategies to influence the development and implementation of policies and regulations. You may offer research and technical expertise to support policy development, make submissions, organize policy dialogues, offer mentorship and training to implementers, or monitor budgets and service provision. You can also use the information gathered to hold the government accountable. In addition, you can use this information to inform outsider strategies, such as public protests, or for insider strategies such as meetings with decision-makers to share problems and identify solutions. Furthermore, you can mobilize to secure formal mechanisms for representation of diverse communities in policy dialogues on the boards of service institutions, such as hospitals or schools, or strengthen the capacity of people representing those constituencies. Thus, advocates can effectively build support for their understanding of the problem and the possible solutions they have identified. We now turn to the importance of keeping judges on your radar, as social justice activists, in order to identify threats and opportunities as you design your strategies to achieve social justice.